3 albums of boring death metal from Belgium, all from one band... Aborted. With that kind of glowing statement, you probably have a good idea what the rest of this review is going to be like and I can’t say I’m sorry about it either.

Aborted take a dose of mid-period Carcass and mix it with the modern death metal scene, taking both a touch of groove and a touch of melody. Something I noticed immediately about THE ARCHAIC ABATTOIR is that both groove and melody have become a much more integral part of the Aborted sound. The band even proceeds to utilize some sections that sound like metalcore and others that sound like Gothenburg, I can’t even see their current fan base latching onto this album very well. Vocally it’s a mix of guttural death metal and a second voice that’s just a harsh yelling.

The album starts off blasting and bland in “Dead Wreckoning”, the blasting sections have absolutely no character whatsoever while the more upbeat riff feels just as lifeless. “Blood Fixing the Bled” is a passable track although it reeks of metalcore and Gothenburg. The section starting at 1:43 wouldn’t be out of place on a Lamb of God album, nor would the following breakdown section. “Gestated Rabidity” starts off fast and with more facless blasting. In an attempt to have variation the band throws in some random groove riffs as well as a wonderfully annoying break down riff with the required random pinch harmonics. “Hecatomb”’s use of groove verges on annoying, the riff at 30 seconds in reminds me of mallcore, especially with the shouted vocals. Luckily the song is rather short, as are most of the songs on the album.

The solo on “The Gangrenous Epitaph” is one of the album’s saving graces but unfortunately it feels cut short, which can be attributed to the fact that it is, in fact, hideously short. The semi-marching riff overtop of the blast beats is semi-interesting before it heads into a rock riff. “The Inertia” starts off nicely with a riff that could have fit on the last couple Impaled albums, just the sound of the melody and the way it’s placed overtop of the open chords screams Impaled. Quickly, the song heads downhill when it quickly moves into a blasting section that throws off the whole feel that had been created in the beginning. Eventually the song heads back to that opening melody for the chorus in a slightly augmented riff but it’s too little too late. Near the end of the album, “Threading on Vermillion Deception” has some nice riff work. The non-blast sections carry a nice groove, although that reoccurring opening riff sounds like something I’ve heard a thousand times before.

Aborted aren’t about to break the mold for death metal and they certainly aren’t about to write any good songs either, especially with their recent choice to incorporate more groove and melody into their music. Previously I could at least respect them, while even though I found them hideously boring, as they seemed very committed to their style of brutal, gory death metal but now I’m starting to see that commitment wavering somewhat. Even hardcore fans of this band may find this album to be a little hard to swallow.